Malcolm Arnold

The Peacock in the Zoo

Cover picture by Robert Arnold. The early 1960s were a golden period for Malcolm Arnold. He was at his height as a composer for the concert hall and for the silver screen. As part of family life at this time, his daughter Katherine remembers visits with her father to London Zoo and Whipsnade, and it was as a result of one of these that she wrote a poem, The Peacock in the Zoo. Perhaps Katherine subconsciously had thoughts of her father as the peacock: a great public attraction, but sometimes a little wilful: Everyone goes to see the peacock. They wait for him to fan out his tail, As he wanders looking for food, Dull and drab behind the fence. To annoy the crowds standing by, He drags his tail feathers And will not deign to reveal their latent splendour. However, seeing the need to entertain, the peacock puts on his usual splendid show: The crowd feels bored and disappears. The peacock advances and fans out his tail, Flaunting it, swaying his whispering feathers, He struts with his head held high Around his pen, until the crowd reappear again… Malcolm seized upon it delightedly and, in 1963, set it to music as a lilting song for piano and unison voices.